Russell Martin Manager
Erling Haaland’s early goal proved decisive on Saturday at the Etihad Stadium, with the Norwegian missing further opportunities to secure the win. Cameron Archer came close to equalizing, hitting the crossbar just before half-time, leaving Southampton without a point. Despite the defeat, Southampton’s defensive performance drew praise from Manchester City’s Pep Guardiola and Bernardo Silva, highlighting the challenge they posed to City.
Russell Martin, Southampton’s manager, was also eager to highlight his team’s performance with the ball against the reigning Premier League champions.
Russell Martin said, “It wasn’t just defensive, I thought we were brilliant with the ball. I thought we were fantastic with the ball. The courage to play football was brilliant. We’ve done about seven interviews now and we’ve spoken a lot about the defending, which was brilliant. The way they defended the box, the guys were stuck at it. But the courage to take the ball and play in the way they wanted to play was amazing, especially after going down 1-0 so early. I have nothing but pride and gratitude for the players today because if we’re going to lose, we need to lose in our way. It didn’t feel like that last week or the week before. So, today I have nothing but pride and positive things to say about the team. We really hurt them on the ball at times and not many teams do that. If we can take the same mentality and willingness to run and defend in tough moments, then we’re going to be fine. I think it helps that we had Jack and Adam on the pitch today. It really helped. I thought they were both outstanding. It helped the young guys a lot around them. I think whatever we do tactically with the shape and build-up and all that stuff, just their mentality helps the team.”
